The Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, India's premier domestic T20 competition, will begin on Saturday. It will showcase a mix of top Indian international players and emerging young talent.
Established in 2007, the tournament enters its 17th edition, featuring 38 teams. Reigning champions Punjab, under the leadership of Abhishek Sharma, claimed their first-ever title last year by defeating Baroda in the final. Abhishek stood out as the 'Player of the Series' in the previous season, amassing 485 runs across 10 matches, including two centuries and three half-centuries.
This year, the 38 teams are divided into five groups: Groups A to C comprise eight teams each, while Groups D and E have seven teams apiece. Defending champions Punjab are placed in Group A, alongside Bengal, Madhya Pradesh, Hyderabad, Rajasthan, Meghalaya, Mizoram, and Bihar.
Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2024 groups and teams
Group A: Bengal, Punjab, Madhya Pradesh, Hyderabad, Rajasthan, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Bihar
Group B: Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Saurashtra, Karnataka, Tripura, Baroda, Sikkim, Uttarakhand
Group C: Delhi, Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Jharkhand, Jammu and Kashmir, Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh
Group D: Assam, Railways, Odisha, Vidarbha, Chhattisgarh, Pondicherry, Chandigarh
Group E: Mumbai, Goa, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Maharashtra, Services, Nagaland.
In the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, teams will face off in a round-robin format within their respective groups. The top two teams from each group will advance to the knockout stages. Among them, the five group winners and the best second-placed team, determined by points or Net Run Rate, will directly secure spots in the quarter-finals. The remaining four teams will compete in the pre-quarterfinals to complete the lineup.
Tamil Nadu remains the most successful team in the competition's history, clinching titles in 2006-07, 2020-21, and 2021-22.
This season is set to feature several marquee Indian players, many using the tournament as preparation for the next Indian Premier League (IPL) season. Last year’s runners-up, Baroda, will boast the Pandya brothers, Hardik and Krunal, in their ranks. Meanwhile, seasoned pacer Mohammed Shami, who recently marked a successful return to cricket during the Ranji Trophy after recovering from an ankle injury, will represent Bengal.
Gujarat's lineup includes Axar Patel and Ravi Bishnoi, while Haryana will showcase the talents of Yuzvendra Chahal, Harshal Patel, and Mohit Sharma.
On the other hand, Tilak Varma and Sanju Samson, both fresh off stellar performances in South Africa with two T20I centuries each, will captain Hyderabad and Kerala, respectively.
Ishan Kishan (Jharkhand), Asian Games gold medal-winning captain Ruturaj Gaikwad (Maharashtra), Shreyas Iyer (Mumbai), Ajinkya Rahane (Mumbai), Shardul Thakur (Mumbai), Ramandeep Singh (Punjab) and Arshdeep Singh (Punjab) will be among other big Indian stars in action.
